Fears while paddling or on canoe trips

So far in almost 20 years of travel in the Canadian bush the bear seem to be timid and quickly vacate the area when we are around. We have attributed this to the fact that most of our trips have been in lightly traveled areas so they are not habituated to humans.

When I first met Clem Quenville of Armstrong ON in September 2007 I noted we had not seen any bear. He started pointing out the bear scat on the logging road he was shuttling us out on. And last year we made a fairly long portage on a long abandoned road east of Savant Lake and on the way in saw no scat but a week later the same road had numerous piles on the way out. They are definitely out there.

Black_Fly said:

Getting severely polluted water in my mouth or eyes. I’d love to get back to worriying about big windy wild lakes.

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Oh yeah, that's one of mine. And it's a real concern in my area. The lower Boise river runs right through the Capitol City and then the rest of the valley on its way to the Snake River. Between the runoff from streets and yards after a rainstorm and the runoff from nearby farms with gravity irrigation, I am careful not to ingest any of that water - not even a drop.

And then there's the Snake. The farming and dairy industry have taken their toll on that river. Not safe for consumption anywhere west of Island Park, as far as I'm concerned.

Rob said:

I have nowhere near the kind of deep bush experience as some of you....I am in awe, frankly.

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Extremely well-written and entertaining-to-read post, Rob. Contribute more often.